Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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54 OCT. 15, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED B ack on campus for the Sept. 29 Stanford game to celebrate the 45-year reunion of the 1973 national champions, 1972-74 Notre Dame starting quarterback Tom Cle- ments remained as poised, polished and understated as ever. On the Friday before the game, the now 65-year-old Fighting Irish legend was the feature guest dur- ing a Q&A session on campus. The first inquiry was inevitable: Can he see the similarities between him and newly appointed Notre Dame starter Ian Book? It was understandable because like the six-foot Clements, the six- foot Book doesn't possess the proto- type size or cannon arm NFL scouts covet — although Clements did have a brilliant CFL Hall of Fame career. Like Clements, Book is a passer first, but is a nimble running threat, with an innate ability to throw on the run going to his right or left, plus he has a resourcefulness and pocket presence to evade tacklers. Clements' 1,148 career rushing yards, including 74 in the 1973 Sugar Bowl national title win versus Ala- bama (24-23), are the second most by an Irish quarterback, behind Tony Rice (2,049) and just ahead of Joe Theismann (1,091). Prior to the Virginia Tech game, Book had rushing outputs of 36, 43 and 47 yards in his last three games where he played at least three quar- ters, which is somewhat in line with the 33.7 rushing yards per game Cle- ments averaged during his career. However, Clements begged off the question because of a lack of sample size and having seen Book in only limited spurts. "It looks like he can make the plays that Coach [Brian] Kelly wants him to make," Clements said the day be- fore Book passed for 278 yards and ran for 47 in the win versus Stanford. "Hopefully, he can continue on, but that's as far as I can go. I wish him the best." In the past month Book has already been compared to other Fighting Irish QB immortals such as Theis- mann (also of the six-foot and nimble ilk) and Joe Montana, who came off the bench to spark the 1977 national title despite not starting until the fourth game (like Book this year). He's even been compared to 2017 Heisman winner Baker Mayfield, a former under-recruited prospect who walked on in college, and now after a few NFL games is heralded as the next John Elway or Brett Favre. And yes, in the world of cyber- space Book also is in the same genre as undersized, under-recruited Drew Brees, who is on the verge of becom- ing the all-time NFL passing leader. That is why Clements' calmer take was refreshing. Even though I am in the media industry, I cringe at inces- sant hype, especially when it comes to Notre Dame quarterbacks. • I think about how Rick Mirer (1989-92) after just a few games at Notre Dame was lauded by coaching legend Bill Walsh as maybe the great- est college quarterback since Roger Staubach in the early 1960s. • I think about how after one col- lege game, Ron Powlus (1994-97) was projected to win not one but two Heismans, and publicized as the most dominant college athlete to come along since UCLA basketball player Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in 1966. • I think about how Jimmy Clausen (2007-09) was referenced as "the LeBron James of football" when he was coming out of high school. Mirer, Powlus and Clausen have nothing to apologize for in their Notre Dame careers, which were more than solid … but they were never going to be able to live up to the hype, which is why to many their career seemed unfulfilling. That's why I prefer to temper any ballyhoo about current freshman Phil Jurkovec. It's like informing an audience beforehand that I am going to tell them the world's funniest joke. I can guarantee that while it might evoke a chuckle, the first reaction will be a disappointed "it wasn't that funny." The two highest-rated incoming quarterbacks on Rivals in head coach Brian Kelly's nine years at Notre Dame were Gunner Kiel (No. 20 over- all player in the nation) and current senior Brandon Wimbush (No. 60). Meanwhile, the 2012 unit that played for the national title was a team with three-star figures Ever- ett Golson and Tommy Rees at QB, while DeShone Kizer came out of nowhere in 2015 to lead a 10-1 start. I loved how unheralded senior Kevin McDougal, the bridge or "fill in" between Mirer and Powlus, be- came the school's all-time pass ef- ficiency king while helping steer an 11-1 campaign in 1993. Remember how Tony Rice and op- tion football were going to be the downfall of Lou Holtz in the mod- ernized passing era from 1988-89? Remember how Montana was sev- enth team as a freshman and had thrown eight interceptions in 66 pass attempts (while completing 42 per- cent) prior to his senior year in 1977? Remember how Clements threw three interceptions as a sophomore in the 40-6 Orange Bowl loss to Ne- braska, or how the school student magazine Scholastic said don't be sur- prised if the inconsistent Theismann is not the starter as a senior in 1970? Let's just enjoy a book, or Book, without peeking ahead to pages. ✦ Letting Ian Book Write His Own Chapter THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI Senior Editor Lou Somogyi has been at Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 1985. He can be reached at lsomogyi@blueandgold.com Tom Clements, Notre Dame's 1972-74 starting quarterback, is one of many luminaries junior Ian Book already has been compared to in the early stages of his career. PHOTO BY JOHN FINERAN